The Keystone Marker Trust is dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and re-creating these proud symbols of our past as a way of orienting our Commonwealth—literally and philosophically—toward a better future. Restored and re-placed markers speak to the vibrancy of our communities. We intend for keystonemarkertrust.org to be a resource for organizations, individuals, and municipalities to showcase their historic preservation, community development, and learning/teaching achievements--achievements of which the markers are part and parcel.

Download our current informational flyer here. The Keystone Marker Trust has the following priorities for the near future:

Most towns had at least 4 historically; rivers, borough lines, creeks, trails, and distances also used keystone markers

This will require re-designing the historic poles to meet current PennDOT standards

Work with PennDOT to establish a uniform set of principles about what markers can be grandfathered in to current safety standards as well as guidelines for marker care.

Create an Adopt-a-Marker Educational tool kit to enable schools to build local and state history programs around a marker

Continue to build the interactive on-line database of all current and historic Keystone Markers

Create a revolving loan and small grant fund to assist municipalities and interested organizations in replicating and restoring their markers

Work with Wayfinding groups to integrate the markers into their activities. Will enable geo-coordinates to be correlated to markers.

Work with municipalities, historical societies, civic improvement groups, and historic preservation groups to utilize www.keystonemarkertrust.org as a way to highlight their special places and preservation/community development initiatives

Erich M. Armpriester was born in Reading, and raised in Wernersville, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 2001 from Wilson High School, and graduated in 2003 from the Pennsylvania College of Technology with an associates degree in Toolmaking Technology. After graduating from Penn College, Erich started full-time employment with the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, with whom he is still employed as a machinist, mechanic, and locomotive engineer. In addition to this, Erich has volunteered for numerous railroad related preservation causes, and is still an active volunteer for the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad in Kempton, Pennsylvania. Erich has had a lifelong interest in nearly everything that relates to Pennsylvania's wonderfully rich history. He feels his involvement in the Keystone Marker Trust gives him an incredible opportunity to help preserve an extremely fascinating piece of history in the greatest state in the Union.

Justin S. Boyd, a native of western Pennsylvania, brings to the board of the Keystone Marker Trust a lifelong passion for history and for the things that come together to make Pennsylvania a uniquely beautiful commonewealth.

An avid designer, Justin's creative eye have combined with his knowledge of architecture and interior design to inspire others to restore their heritage. Prior to joining the board, Justin gained hands-on knowledge and experience through aiding in the restoration of multiple keystone markers. Justin has assisted with numerous KMT projects and looks forward to helping to restore and re-install markers in western Pennsylvania. Aside from his involvement with the KMT, Justin also volunteers his time for several other non-profit organizations.

Christian A. Busch is the owner and founding principal of 20th Century Preservation, LLC, an award winning architecture and preservation consulting firm located in Ardmore, PA. With over twenty-three years of experience in the fields of design and construction, he has worked as a laborer, carpenter, project and construction manager, estimator, designer and consultant for numerous renovation, modernization, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects involving locally and/or nationally registered historic structures throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Mr. Busch’s professional practice focuses primarily on Forensic Analysis, Historic Preservation and Architectural Consulting for institutional, commercial and residential clients. His extensive field experience in architecture, preservation and construction is complimented by a technical education in architectural design and historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, an active involvement in numerous professional associations, preservation advocacy groups and the local community. Click here for Mr. Busch's CV.

James G. Carn is a life long resident of Williamsport. He is a graduate of The Williamsport Area Community College (now Pennsylvania College of Technology) having associate degrees in Graphic Arts Technology and Education and Social Work. He's a graduate of the Allentown Police Academy and a 25-year veteran of The Williamsport Bureau of Police where he held the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Jim successfully completed Police Executive Development Institute courses at The Pennsylvania State University. In 1997 he received state certification as a district justice after successfully completing the Minor Judiciary Education Board's course of instruction at Wilson College, Chambersburg, and was elected to that office later that year serving the western half of the City of Williamsport. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. Jim has successfully completed judicial courses at the National Judicial College, at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a life member and director of the Lycoming Creek Watershed Association and a director of Northcentral Chapter 8 Society for Pennsylvania Archeology. An avid hiker, Jim spends time in the winter months cutting brush and removing dead fall primarily in the Tiadaghton State Forest's Pine Creek Valley. He also annually volunteers as an usher at the Little League World Series. He is also a member and past president of The Tiadaghton Chapter Sons of the American Revolution, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 29, The Lycoming County Historical Society, a life member of the Pine Creek Preservation Association, and The Special Court Judges Association of PA of which he is president of District Three.

John T. (Jack) Graham was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received a B.S. degree in Forest Management from The Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1965. Following several years as an Army Engineer Officer supporting U.S. Air Force operations in Thailand and Vietnam, he was employed by the then PA Dept. of Forests and Waters as a State Park Manager. He retired from the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources in that capacity in 2005, having served as site manager at Yellow Creek State Park (Indiana County), Ridley Creek State Park (Delaware County), and Nockamixon State Park (Bucks County). Mr. Graham also served several years in administrative roles, specifically in Budgeting, Personnel, and Labor Relations. Since retirement, he and his wife live in Perry County, and have become seasonal lighthouse keepers at sites around the U.S. He is also a lighthouse researcher and author. He is a member of the board, and historical researcher, for the Pennsylvania Forest Fire Museum. His hobbies, in addition to documenting and preserving the Cast Iron Town Name Signs of Pennsylvania, include wood carving, flat-water kayaking, hiking, squirrel hunting, and performing as story-teller “Pennsylvania Jack”.

Nathaniel C. Guest is a 1998 magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University, a 2010 graduate of the Temple University School of Law, and a masters candidate in historic preservation planning at Cornell. In 2008, he founded the Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance to facilitate the adaptive re-use of the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital (Spring City, PA), an International Site of Conscience where forced institutionalization of disabled persons was first declared unconstitutional (see www.preservepennhurst.org).

Nathaniel is active with the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County as a locomotive engineer and conductor. He is the Program Manager for Preservation Initiatives for the nation’s oldest railroad heritage organization, the National Railway Historical Society. He is on the governance committee of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. He is a board member of Preservation Pennsylvania and the Schuylkill River Greenway Association, managing organization of the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area.

Nathaniel has been involved in revitalizing the Colebrookdale Railroad in Berks County. He has recently transformed his life-long fascination for Pennsylvania's unique keystone markers into an effort to re-institute a marker program as an educational tool and as a means of both creating and engaging civic pride in the great state we call home. Download Mr. Guest's CV here.

Mike Natale was born and raised in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City. Childhood vacations in the family RV took him all over the country and inculcated an early love of the open road. The joys of travel mixed well with a love of history, and Mike became a dedicated highway archaeologist and "roadgeek" by the time he had entered high school, dragging parents and friends to places like the abandonded Pennsylvania Turnpike alignment and bypassed stretches of the Lincoln Highway. It was college at Carnegie Mellon University that got Mike out to Pittsburgh originally, and falling in love with the city was what has kept him there for the last 16 years. After graduating with a BA in History, Mike spent a few years working for the national office of his college fraternity (Kappa Delta Rho) doing non-profit and educational work. Although history remains a passion and he volunteers with the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Mike took quite a different path for a career and became a local police officer. With whatever free time he has, Mike still travels every chance he gets, and is attempting to visit every county in the United States and every township and borough in Pennsylvania, a goal which takes him past Keystone Markers on a regular basis.

Greg Prichard is a native of Wayne, Pennsylvania, and is in the 2011 class of Cornell University's Historic Preservation Planning program. Greg received a BFA in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006, and worked for over two years in a nationally recognized environmental graphic design firm. There he gained experience in sign design and fabrication. Greg is a board member of the Radnor Historical Society and created and maintains its online home, radnorhistory.org. In addition, Greg is active in many preservation causes in the suburban Philadelphia area, including a plaque program for historic buildings.

Greg operates the Prichard Design & History Studio (designandhistory.com), which specializes in interpretive signs for historic sites and trails.

Mike Wintermantel was born and raised in Ohio Township, just outside of Pittsburgh. Mike is a graduate of Avonworth High School, has an Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and has been employed in the Signage and Wayfinding field as a Graphic Designer for over 25 years, as well as a Certified Bridge Safety Inspector for PennDOT. In addition, he has been an active member of the Ohio Township Volunteer Fire Company in Allegheny County since 1985.

Mike has always had an "interest" in history for many years, he and his wife like to travel, sometimes during which they locate, photograph and document historical markers, points of interest, and of course when in Pennsylvania...Keystone Markers.

As a child growing up, he and his family would travel the country, mostly in his dad's Chevy pickup, towing the camper and seeing just about every state in the lower 48.